Transportation Research Board
HomeContact Us Directory E-NewsletterFollow Us RSS

The National Academies
NCHRP > Impacts on Practice
Text Size: Increase Text SizeDecrease Text Size| Share:



NCHRP Impacts on Practice

Among the variety of methods the National Cooperative Highway Research Program uses to showcase the value of NCHRP research is a series of success stories titled "Impacts on Practice." These one-page case studies highlight how transportation agencies have put critical NCHRP research results to use nationwide.
Administration and Management
Iowa DOT’s Relentless Pursuit of ExcellenceIowa DOT’s Relentless Pursuit of Excellence
January 11, 2012
At Iowa DOT, every new research result from NCHRP represents an opportunity for improvement. “We judge the value of NCHRP—or any research program—by how it makes a difference in the way we do business,” says Sandra Larson, director of Iowa DOT’s Research and Technology Bureau.
Making Every Asset CountMaking Every Asset Count
January 12, 2011
From stop signs to suspension bridges to assets of every size in between, transportation agencies have zeroed in on asset management in recent years as an important strategy to help direct spending decisions. AASHTO’s Transportation Asset Management Guide, published in 2002 based on NCHRP research, is the key resource they turn to.
New Hampshire’s go-to source for researchNew Hampshire’s go-to source for research
December 21, 2010
New Hampshire DOT receives one of the smallest slices of federal highway funding in the nation and has a research program budget of only $800,000. How does the agency parlay its State Planning & Research funds into $35 million every year?
Funding Revolutionary Ideas in Transportation <br> Innovations Deserving Exploratory AnalysisFunding Revolutionary Ideas in Transportation
Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis
May 3, 2010
Change can come in small increments or quantum leaps. TRB's IDEA programs—Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis—supported a major leap toward a new kind of bridge beam.
Delivering Value Across a Transportation Agency <br> NCHRP from a Chief Engineer's Perspective—Louisiana DOTDDelivering Value Across a Transportation Agency
NCHRP from a Chief Engineer's Perspective—Louisiana DOTD
April 8, 2010
Bill Temple, chief engineer of the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, can name off the top of his head a dozen NCHRP research reports that his office uses on a regular basis to get its work done. Topics range from Superpave testing to pavement drainage issues, from access management to design-build contracting. However, when Temple did some asking around Louisiana DOTD, he ...
NCHRP Pays Off for Caltrans <br> Leveraging the State Research Investment </br>NCHRP Pays Off for Caltrans
Leveraging the State Research Investment
April 8, 2010
Randy Iwasaki, director of the California Department of Transportation, knows the three steps to getting the most out of research: "Deploy, deploy, deploy." Caltrans invests in research to get results it can implement at the highest possible return on its research dollar.


Traffic and Safety
The Capacity Balancing Act <br> Highway Capacity Manual </br>The Capacity Balancing Act
Highway Capacity Manual
February 7, 2011
Highway capacity: Too little means gridlock, but paving over America isn’t the answer either. The right balance involves careful policy decisions and compromise—and using the right tools to address concerns and defuse controversy.
Securing Our Highways and Bridges <br> Report 525 SeriesSecuring Our Highways and Bridges
Report 525 Series
April 8, 2010
The attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, ushered in a new era of security planning in transportation. The situation was urgent: State DOTs needed a coordinated effort to protect their infrastructure and the people who use it.
Flashing Yellow Arrow for Safer Left Turns<br> Report 493: Evaluation of Traffic Signal Displays for Protected/Permissive Left-Turn Control </br>Flashing Yellow Arrow for Safer Left Turns
Report 493: Evaluation of Traffic Signal Displays for Protected/Permissive Left-Turn Control
April 8, 2010
A left turn is one of the most dangerous movements a motorist makes. Left-turn traffic signals are designed to let drivers know when to yield to oncoming traffic and when they have the right of way, but the wide variety of these signals in use across the country can be confusing.
Making Night Work Zones Safe <BR> Reports 475 and 476; CRP-CD-50Making Night Work Zones Safe
Reports 475 and 476; CRP-CD-50
April 8, 2010
Nighttime construction has distinct advantages: less traffic to pose a threat to workers, and far fewer delays for motorists. A DOT might even close an Interstate completely during the wee hours and not hear complaints.
Safety Guides Help States Save Lives <br>Report 500 Series Safety Guides Help States Save Lives
Report 500 Series
April 8, 2010
It was 1996, and significant gains in highway safety appeared stalled. Experts declared that the "low-hanging fruit" had been picked and more innovative strategies were needed to significantly reduce highway deaths in the U.S.
Crash Standards Save Lives, Spur Innovation<br>Report 350: Recommended Procedures for the Safety Performance Evaluation of Highway FeaturesCrash Standards Save Lives, Spur Innovation
Report 350: Recommended Procedures for the Safety Performance Evaluation of Highway Features
April 6, 2010
A horn blares, brakes squeal, and a sport utility vehicle skids off a curve into the right of way ... where a guardrail stops the SUV from plunging into a ditch. The guardrail withstands the vehicle's impact without injuring the passengers, thanks to the rigorous crash-test standards employed in its design.


Construction and Materials
Better Designs Mean Longer Pavement Life <br> NCHRP Project 1-37A </br> Better Designs Mean Longer Pavement Life
NCHRP Project 1-37A
July 28, 2010
A lot has changed on our highways since the 1950s—traffic vol­umes, pavement materials, truck weights, and customer expec­tations. So when it came time for AASHTO to update its pavement design guidance to state DOTs, engineers needed a new approach.
National Standards Raise the Bar for Bridge Joints <br> Report 467: Performance Testing for Modular Bridge Joint SystemsNational Standards Raise the Bar for Bridge Joints
Report 467: Performance Testing for Modular Bridge Joint Systems
April 8, 2010
"Doing it right costs money. Doing it wrong costs more." Just ask Texas DOT, which had to repair the modular bridge joint systems on its expansive Houston Ship Channel Bridge.
The Recycling Supplement to Superpave <br> Report 452: Recommended Use of Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement in the Superpave Mix Design Method: Technician's ManualThe Recycling Supplement to Superpave
Report 452: Recommended Use of Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement in the Superpave Mix Design Method: Technician's Manual
April 8, 2010
As Superpave took its place in the 1990s as the leading method for asphalt mix design, transportation agencies needed to know how to incorporate reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) into the new design process. The NCHRP research and guidelines that followed still provide definitive answers a decade after publication.
Improving on Superpave's Success<br>Report 464: The Restricted Zone in the Superpave Aggregate Gradation SpecificationImproving on Superpave's Success
Report 464: The Restricted Zone in the Superpave Aggregate Gradation Specification
April 8, 2010
Superpave was a landmark achievement of the Strategic Highway Research Program, providing tools for the design and construction of high-performing asphalt pavements. NCHRP research helped improve upon a good thing, fine-tuning Superpave by removing an unnecessary restriction.


Design
NCHRP & AASHTO Advance Bridge SpecificationsNCHRP & AASHTO Advance Bridge Specifications
December 21, 2010
The calendar was counting down to October 1, 2007. From that date forward, states were to design all new federally funded bridges using Load and Resistance Factor Design specifications. Would they be ready?
Better Designs Mean Longer Pavement Life <br> NCHRP Project 1-37A </br> Better Designs Mean Longer Pavement Life
NCHRP Project 1-37A
July 28, 2010
A lot has changed on our highways since the 1950s—traffic vol­umes, pavement materials, truck weights, and customer expec­tations. So when it came time for AASHTO to update its pavement design guidance to state DOTs, engineers needed a new approach.
New Design Specs for Support Structures<br> Report 494: Structural Supports for Highway Signs, Luminaires, and Traffic SignalsNew Design Specs for Support Structures
Report 494: Structural Supports for Highway Signs, Luminaires, and Traffic Signals
April 8, 2010
Bracing winds, vibrations from passing trucks, and fatigue damage all impact the structures that support highway signs, luminaires, and traffic signals. State DOTs look to AASHTO's standard specifications for guidance in designing and constructing structures that will withstand these challenges.


Environment, Energy, and Planning
Making Every Asset CountMaking Every Asset Count
January 12, 2011
From stop signs to suspension bridges to assets of every size in between, transportation agencies have zeroed in on asset management in recent years as an important strategy to help direct spending decisions. AASHTO’s Transportation Asset Management Guide, published in 2002 based on NCHRP research, is the key resource they turn to.
Improving Transportation With Smarter PlanningImproving Transportation With Smarter Planning
January 11, 2011
Before the shovel hits the dirt—even before the back-of-the-envelope design calculations are made—transportation projects, programs, and policies all start at the same important place: planning
CSS: Designing for the Times<br>Report 480: A Guide to Best Practices for Achieving Context Sensitive SolutionsCSS: Designing for the Times
Report 480: A Guide to Best Practices for Achieving Context Sensitive Solutions
April 8, 2010
Cultural trends in the 1960s awakened public interest in human impacts on the landscape—including road building. By the mid-1990s, a consensus emerged in the U.S. that new approaches were needed to integrate highway development with community and environmental sensitivities.
Research Assists DOTs in Green Stewardship <br>Environmental Research Series 25-25Research Assists DOTs in Green Stewardship
Environmental Research Series 25-25
April 8, 2010
In constantly striving to better deliver their core services, state transportation agencies have become champions of environmental research. It turns out that being a good steward of the environment is good for business.


Maintenance and Preservation
Bridge Owners Using Inspection Guidelines <br> Report 534: Guidelines for Inspection and Strength Evaluation of Suspension Bridge Parallel Wire Cables </br>Bridge Owners Using Inspection Guidelines
Report 534: Guidelines for Inspection and Strength Evaluation of Suspension Bridge Parallel Wire Cables
April 8, 2010
Soaring suspension bridges are among the most recognizable landmarks across the United States. However, more than half of the country's major suspension bridges are older than 50 years, raising the question: How do engineers assure the bridges' continuing load-carrying capacity?
Quality Assurance for the Maintenance World<br>Report 422: Maintenance QA Program Implementation Manual</br>Quality Assurance for the Maintenance World
Report 422: Maintenance QA Program Implementation Manual
April 8, 2010
State DOTs expend tremendous resources to maintain their highways, bridges and other facilities. Many states use Maintenance Management Systems to plan and budget maintenance activities, but until recently DOTs' quality assurance programs were largely limited to the realm of construction.
Snow and Ice Control—One Storm at a Time <br> Report 526: Snow and Ice Control: Guidelines for Materials and MethodsSnow and Ice Control—One Storm at a Time
Report 526: Snow and Ice Control: Guidelines for Materials and Methods
April 8, 2010
Experienced snowplow drivers often hit on the right snow and ice control practices for each winter storm. But in the past, state DOTs lacked standard guidelines, based on solid research, to help field supervisors and drivers of all experience levels choose the most appropriate strategy for different locations and conditions.
Customer-Driven Highway Maintenance <br> Report 511: Guide for Customer-Driven Benchmarking of Maintenance ActivitiesCustomer-Driven Highway Maintenance
Report 511: Guide for Customer-Driven Benchmarking of Maintenance Activities
April 8, 2010
If a heavy snowstorm makes a highway impassable for very long, state DOTs will hear about it from motorists. And when winter gives way to spring potholes, drivers again let highway agencies know their displeasure.
Transportation Research Board. 500 Fifth St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001
Copyright © 2012. National Academy of Sciences. All Rights Reserved.